Trustee from the Toolroom

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach.

Something about this author's calm, deliberate style creates unexpected excitement... we are warmed by the justice and sheer pleasure of it

Nevil Shute made me yearn for a faithful, plodding, Shute-type of man. I imagined us trekking across the Australian outback, finding a run-down hamlet, and then transforming it together until death or flood parted us

Nevil Shute was born on 17 January 1899 in Ealing, London. After attending the Dragon School and Shrewsbury School, he studied Engineering Science at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an aeronautical engineer and published his first novel, Marazan, in 1926. In 1931 he married Frances Mary Heaton and they went on to have two daughters. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve where he worked on developing secret weapons. After the war he continued to write and settled in Australia where he lived until his death on 12 January 1960. His most celebrated novels include Pied Piper (1942), No Highway (1948), A Town Like Alice (1950) and On the Beach (1957).

**AS SEEN ON BBC TWO'S BETWEEN THE COVERS** 
 
‘An incredible adventure story…a book that will live with you forever’ Richard Osman (on BBC Two’s Between the Covers). 
 
Discover a classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach. 
 
Keith Stewart is an ordinary man. However, one day he is called upon to undertake an extraordinary task. 
 
When his sister's boat is wrecked in the Pacific, he becomes trustee for his little niece. In order to save her from destitution he has to embark on a 2,000 mile voyage in a small yacht in inhospitable waters. His adventures and the colourful characters he meets on his journey make this book a marvellous tale of courage and friendship. 
 
'Something about this author's calm, deliberate style creates unexpected excitement... we are warmed by the justice and sheer pleasure of it' Independent

No Highway

EXCITEMENT and SUSPENSE 18,000 Feet Over the Atlantic!

No Highway is a novel which engages the heart and grips the mind

Shute was a brilliant storyteller and terrific example for any writer

Mr Shute is a storyteller in the tradition of R.L Stevenson and Kipling

Read this classic uplifting, moving and heartwarming story about life in the face of the cold war. 
 
 Theodore Honey is a shy, inconspicuous aircraft engineer whose eccentric interests in quantum mechanics and spiritualism are frowned upon in aviation circles. But when a passenger plane crashes in unexplained circumstances, Honey must convince his superiors that his unorthodox theories are correct before more lives are lost.

Most Secret

A magnificent thrill; it is also a tale of character, for every member of the little ship's company is worth meeting. A book that should not be missed

No other writer has brought to fiction of this type quite the same lively sympathy and warmth of imagination or left so engaging an impression of truthfulness....Mr Shute always has good things to offer...the power to convey the springs of heroic conduct in the lightest and least assuming of tones

Based around a group aboard a converted trawler in 1942, this is a grand tale of sacrifice and courage and superbly structured

In their trusty fishing boat Genevieve, armed with a flame thrower and limited ammunition, a small group of officers and men take a stand against the might of the German army after the fall of France in World War II. This is classic Shute: at once a thrilling adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and a heartbreaking tale of the ravages of war.

Lonely Road

An ordinary man finds himself in extraordinary circumstances when his patriotic dedication endangers the life of the woman he loves

The English novel's only down-to-earth romantic... there is a quality of golden light that hangs over his books. That comes, I think, from his sense of order and from his own vast, undemonstrative solicitude

A first-class storyteller, and his narrative is extraordinarily convincing

A rich middle-aged man finds his lonely life turned upside down when he falls in love with a pretty dance hostess and becomes involved in exposing a conspiracy to sabotage the British General Election. But his dogged pursuit of the criminals will throw his life and the lives of those he cares about into grave danger.

Slide Rule

The autobiography of the classic author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach.

Most of my adult life, perhaps all the worthwhile part of it, has been spent messing about with airplanes

Nevil Shute was a power and a pioneer in the world of flying long before he began to write the stories that made him a bestselling novelist. This autobiography charts Shute's path from childhood to his career as a gifted aeronautical engineer working at the forefront of the technological experimentation of the 1920s and 30s. The inspiration for many of the themes and concerns of Shute's novels can be identified in this enjoyable and enlightening memoir.

What Happened to the Corbetts

Mr Shute is a storyteller in the tradition of R.L. Stevenson and Kipling

That shattering, unaffected, literary style of his is wholly deceptive...is, in fact, masterly

Nevil Shute wrote this prophetic novel just before the start of the Second World War. In it he describes the devastation that results from an aerial bomb attack on Southampton that destroys the city's infrastructure and leaves the inhabitants at the mercy of cholera and further assaults. The story follows the trials and tribulations of the Corbett family as they try to get to safety.

Beyond the Black Stump

The novel fascinates in its record of the hazards and joys shared by a rich and rewarding company of personalities

The best novel its author has written for some time...his characters...are carved out with fine bold strokes, and the red dust of his million-acre ranch fairly gets in your throat

A brilliantly descriptive writer, a master of suspense

If somewhere is 'beyond the black stump' it means it is in the deepest darkest wilds of the Australian outback. This is the sun-baked setting for Nevil Shute's novel of a romance that is tested by the differences between two young people's home lives. Stanton Laird is sent from his small town in America to work in a remote outpost in Western Australia. While out there he befriends the unconventional Regan family and falls in love with the daughter Mollie. However, when Mollie travels to America to visit him the couple realise that their differences in background make their plans for a future together hard to realise.

(Vintage Classics Shute Series)

A Town Like Alice

'Probably more people have shed tears over the last page of A Town Like Alice than about any other novel in the English language... remarkable' John Ezard, Guardian

This direct, simply told story is about honest, dogged virtues, at least as redolent of its era as street parties or 'We'll Meet Again'

A Town like Alice is the most romantic book I've ever read...Jean's determination to survive is inspirational, and the love she finds later is beautiful

A ripping tale of budding romance and grace under pressure

A heart-rending tale of torture, human fortitude and forbearance, inhumanity and hardship

That supreme storyteller, Nevil Shute...I could hardly bear to put the book down. I read it voraciously for days

Remarkable books...I share a fierce personal regard for Nevil Shute

A novel which, while aiming at popularity, respected its readership and was possessed of a decent level of craft

'Probably more people have shed tears over the last page of A Town Like Alice than about any other novel in the English language... remarkable' Guardian 
 
 Jean Paget is just twenty years old and working in Malaya when the Japanese invasion begins. 
 
When she is captured she joins a group of other European women and children whom the Japanese force to march for miles through the jungle - an experience that leads to the deaths of many. 
 
Due to her courageous spirit and ability to speak Malay, Jean takes on the role of leader of the sorry gaggle of prisoners and many end up owing their lives to her indomitable spirit. While on the march, the group run into some Australian prisoners, one of whom, Joe Harman, helps them steal some food, and is horrifically punished by the Japanese as a result. 
 
After the war, Jean tracks Joe down in Australia and together they begin to dream of surmounting the past and transforming his one-horse outback town into a thriving community like Alice Springs... 
 
With an introduction by Eric Lomax, author of The Railway Man

On The Beach

Powerful, gripping and haunting: Nevil Shute's most remarkable and influential novel

The most evocative novel on the aftermath of a nuclear war

Fictions such as On the Beach played an important role in raising awareness about the threat of nuclear war. We stared into the abyss and then stepped back from the brink

Still incredibly moving after nearly half a century

Timely and ironic..an indelibly sad ending that leaves you tearful and disturbed

On the Beach didn't offer a literal second chance at life. But, as a nuclear cloud drifted over to people in Australia, it did show how knowledge of the end can dislodge the truest of feelings from their hiding places and give them a second chance

this book by Nevil Shute, is one of the finest of the period. ... the drama comes from Shute's ability to capture how different people choose to come to the end of their lives, sometimes heroically, sometimes selfishly, but always gripping the reader's imagination and twisting the emotion. A taut, tightly written tale by an underrated, indeed largely forgotten writer."

After the war is over, a radioactive cloud begins to sweep southwards on the winds, gradually poisoning everything in its path. An American submarine captain is among the survivors left sheltering in Australia, preparing with the locals for the inevitable. Despite his memories of his wife, he becomes close to a young woman struggling to accept the harsh realities of their situation. Then a faint Morse code signal is picked up, transmitting from the United States and the submarine must set sail through the bleak ocean to search for signs of life. 
 
On the Beach is Nevil Shute's most powerful novel. Both gripping and intensely moving, its impact is unforgettable.

Requiem for a Wren

The mysterious death of a young woman on an Australian farm reveals a heartrending story of doomed wartime romance.

My favourite novel, by my favourite author, is a wonderful example of a master's craft. This understated Second World War love story still has a freshness and sincerity more than half a century after it was written. Tragically sad but also uplifting

Shattering, unaffected, literary style...masterly

There is little that Mr Shute does not know about choosing an appealing story and telling it in a gripping way

The mysterious death of a young woman on an Australian farm reveals a bittersweet story of doomed wartime romance amidst a family crisis. 
 
Alan Duncan returns to his family home in Australia after the war and several years of study in England. But his homecoming is marred by the mysterious suicide of his parents' quiet and reliable parlour-maid. A search through her belongings in search of clues leads to heartbreaking revelations about the woman's identity, the death of Alan's brother Bill and, above all, the disappearance of his brother's fiancée, Janet.

Pied Piper

As recommended on BBC4's A Good Read - 'A very good writer...simple, elegant and readable...a fantastic story' Jonathan Coe

Mr Shute not only writes vividly and excitingly of occupied France, but with a delightful understanding of children

A small masterpiece...a book about frail but indomitable old age, simple kindness, childhood, and courage in dark confusing danger. It is not sentimental but prosaic and suspenseful on every page...it conjures up the country of the 1940's, and gently acclaims the value of ordinary decency in wicked times

Exhibits his talents at their provocative best

Nevil Shute (Author) Nevil Shute was born on 17 January 1899 in Ealing, London. After attending the Dragon School and Shrewsbury School, he studied Engineering Science at Balliol College, Oxford. He worked as an aeronautical engineer and published his first novel, Marazan, in 1926. In 1931 he married Frances Mary Heaton and they went on to have two daughters. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve where he worked on developing secret weapons. After the war he continued to write and settled in Australia where he lived until his death on 12 January 1960. His most celebrated novels include Pied Piper (1942), No Highway (1948), A Town Like Alice (1950) and On the Beach (1957). John Boyne (Introducer) John Boyne is the author of nineteen novels for adults, six for younger readers, a picture book and a collection of short stories. His 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide and has been adapted for cinema, theatre, ballet, and opera. His many international bestsellers include The Heart's Invisible Furies and A Ladder to the Sky. He has won four Irish Book Awards, including Author of the Year in 2022, along with a host of other international literary prizes, including most recently the 2025 FNAC novel prize for The Elements. His novels are published in sixty languages. 
 
 
Twitter: @JohnBoyneBooks 
Instagram: @JohnBoyneAuthor

Nevil Shute’s classic Second World War novel is an uplifting, satisfying and moving story. 
 
John Howard is determined to brighten up his old age by taking a fishing trip to France. However, during his stay the Nazis invade and he is forced to try to escape back to England with the two small children of some friends who must stay behind to help the Allied war effort. As the conflict grows closer, the roads become impassable and Howard also comes across five more children who need his help. He ends up leading this motley group of youngsters through the French countryside, constantly beset by danger yet heroically protecting his charges. 
 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JOHN BOYNE 
'A very good writer...simple, elegant and readable...a fantastic story' Jonathan Coe

Stephen Morris

Two linked novels about flying planes and falling in love.

An example of trim, professional storytelling with technical know-how (splendid accounts of flying, driving by night, and sailing) giving extra thrust to the narrative

INCLUDES THE NOVEL PILOTAGE 
 
Stephen Morris has just called off his engagement to the girl of his dreams because he is a penniless graduate with no prospects. He finds a job working as an aircraft mechanic, hoping to make his fortune. 
 
In Pilotage, Stephen's navigator Peter Dennison is struggling with the same problem. These two early novels draw on Nevil Shute's own experiences as a young engineer.

So Disdained

That shattering, unaffected, literary style of his is masterly

There is a quality of golden light that hangs over his books. That comes, I think, from his sense of order and from his own vast, undemonstrative solicitude

When Peter Moran picks up a man on the roadside while driving through a bitter rainy night on the South Downs, he embarks upon an adventure that will lead him into treasonous international plots, flying adventures and tests of both his bravery and his loyalty.

In the Wet

Shute is an honest exciting adventure writer who blends narrative gift with a fine power of description

It is the rainy season. Drunk and delirious, an old man lies dying in the Queensland bush. In his opium-hazed last hours, a priest finds his deserted shack and listens to his last words. Half-awake and half-dreaming the old man tells the story of an adventure set decades in the future, in a very different world...

Ruined City

'"I believe that that's the one thing most worth doing in this modern world," he said quietly. "to create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of"' Ruined City

Not only a brilliant fluent storyteller but also an ironic commentator on the world scene

There is little that Shute does not know about choosing an appealing story and telling it in a gripping way

Through a series of mishaps, Henry Warren, a recently divorced City financier, ends up in hospital in a Northern town ruined by the closure of its shipyard. Moved by the fate of the town's inhabitants, Warren risks his fortune and reputation to save the shipyard and restore the town to its former prosperity. In seeking to change the fate of the town, he radically changes his own.

The Rainbow and the Rose

That supreme storyteller, Nevil Shute

When Johnny Pascoe attempts to rescue a sick girl from the Tasmanian outback his plane crashes leaving him dangerously injured. Ronnie Clarke, who was trained by Pascoe, endeavours to fly a doctor in to help but this proves more difficult than he imagined. As he waits overnight at Pascoe's house in order to try again the next day Clarke revisits the past of this unusual man - and reveals the shocking and tragic secrets that have influenced his life.

Pastoral

A classic adventure from the author of A Town Like Alice and On the Beach

One of the happiest books which war has called into being

During the Second World War, Peter Marshall's crew become one of the most successful bombing teams in their Oxfordshire airbase. However, when Peter falls in love with a young WAAF officer, his concentration begins to suffer and it looks as though his perfect run of missions - and his life - may be threatened.

An Old Captivity

Nevil Shute's books always have a real hero...intensely romantic along with the realism, intensely real along with the romanticism, and peculiarly absorbing

Young pilot Donald Ross has little in common with the Oxford don who has employed him on an expedition to the Arctic - and still less with his beautiful but stubborn daughter, Alix.But once the three of them reach the treacherous shores of Greenland their destinies are inextricably bound by the events that unfold there.

The Chequer Board

A novel about four different men learning how to live with their past lives, and face their futures.

Not only a brilliantly fluent storyteller but also an ironic commentator on the world scene

Shute was a brilliant storyteller and a terrific example for any writer

As a novelist, Nevil Shute goes from strength to strength, experimenting, drawing out life as he sees it, and setting it before us in ordered pattern...The Chequer Board is a notable novel

Blessed with an unaffected poplar touch, Shute has come close to the sentiment of his readers not only through a very genuine quality of sympathy but also through a singular ease and liveliness of topical invention...he is a storyteller of an uncommonly veracious stamp, whose performance is more remarkable that his quiet and refreshing modest airs might suggest

A happy knack endows this story with a character who is slightly greater than life-size. It proves once again how the ordinary, the average, the season-ticket holder sitting next to you, can still, in the hands of an expert, furnish the very stuff of literature

John Turner, a young man with a chequered past, has been told he has just one year to live. He decides to use his time in search of three very different men he met briefly during the war: an snobbish British pilot, a young corporal accused of murder, and a black G.I. accused of attempted rape. Along the way, Turner learns about forgiveness, tolerance and second chances, and overcomes his fear of death.

The Far Country

A dramatic romance set in the remote wilds of the Australian outback

Enjoyable story of love blossoming over the scalpels

A heartlifting novel by a master-weaver of romance and adventure

A young English woman leaves her ageing parents to visit friends living in the Australian outback. She falls in love, both with the country and with Carl, a doctor and Czech refugee. Brought together through dramatic encounters and strange twists of fate, their relationship hangs in the balance when Jennifer is called back to England.

Nevil Shute

A story which grips and fascinates, a story enriched by the observation and understanding which have made Shute's work outstanding

So convincingly does Shute tell the story and so cleverly does he leave the character of Shaklin deliberately vague that the book is as absorbing as anything he has written, and Cutter one of his finest creations

When Tom Cutter hires Constantine Shaklin as an engineer in his air freight business, he little realises the extraordinary gifts of his new recruit. Shaklin possesses a religious power which inspires everyone he meets to a new faith and hope for humanity. As Cutter's business grows across Asia, so does Shaklin's fame, until he is widely regarded as a unifying deity. Though he struggles to believe Shaklin is indeed divine, the friendship will transform Cutter's life.

Nevil Shute

Praise for Round the Bend

A story which grips and fascinates, a story enriched by the observation and understanding which have made Shute's work outstanding

He holds attention to the last page

So convincingly does Shute tell the story and so cleverly does he leave the character of Shaklin deliberately vague that the book is as absorbing as anything he has written, and Cutter one of his finest creations

A story which grips and fascinates, a story enriched by the observation and understanding which have made Shute's work outstanding

He holds attention to the last page

So convincingly does Shute tell the story and so cleverly does he leave the character of Shaklin deliberately vague that the book is as absorbing as anything he has written, and Cutter one of his finest creations

A story which grips and fascinates, a story enriched by the observation and understanding which have made Shute's work outstanding

He holds attention to the last page

So convincingly does Shute tell the story and so cleverly does he leave the character of Shaklin deliberately vague that the book is as absorbing as anything he has written, and Cutter one of his finest creations

Books by Nevil Shute

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